Collierville police officer faces domestic violence charge

A Collierville police officer is suspended without pay after he was charged with domestic violence in connection with an argument at his Bartlett home.

James Dood, 45, was arrested in the early morning hours of Dec. 28 after an incident with his wife, Lori Dood, a dispatcher for the Germantown Police Department. According to police reports, James Dood came home “heavily intoxicated making … threatening and derogatory statements directed at (his wife).”

Police reports state Lori Dood sustained bruises on her arms, wrists and buttocks in the incident, and once Bartlett officers determined the husband was the primary aggressor in the matter, he was arrested.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/jan/08/collierville-police-officer-faces-domestic/?CID=happeningnow

TN Police Chiefs caught in a bald faced lie by the Tennessean

Tennessee law enforcement officials who claimed grocery and convenience stores do a poorer job of following alcohol laws than liquor stores couldn’t back that up with statistics on Thursday.

After The Tennessean’s request for data, the head of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association also called on the police group to produce evidence to back its claim.

“I didn’t see any statistics that they provided that showed any correlation between sales at our stores and any detriment to alcohol-related issues,” said Jarron Springer, president of the grocers group. “We respect those law enforcement officials but, again, didn’t see any evidence.”

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130111/NEWS0201/301110055/TN-police-chiefs-stand-by-wine-sales-assertion

Former police officer, pastor charged with raping mentally disabled woman

A retired Clarksville Police sergeant and associate pastor has been indicted by the Montgomery County grand jury and accused of raping a mentally disabled woman on two occasions.

Charles Alan Denton, 59, also known as Chuck Denton, was charged with two counts of rape on allegations that he sexually assaulted a 34-year-old mentally disabled woman.

Denton was a sergeant at the Clarksville Police Department and retired in June 2008 after 32 years of service, according to Jim Knoll, spokesman for CPD.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130111/NEWS03/130111003/Former-police-officer-pastor-charged-raping-mentally-disabled-woman

Fmr. Corrections Employee Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of Minor

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A former Tennessee Department of Corrections manager in Clarksville has been charged after police found numerous child pornography images on his home computers.

Clarksville Police arrested 66-year-old Dexter Mason Tuesday and charged him with sexual exploitation of a minor. Corrections officials confirmed that Mason worked as a manager in the  Probation and Parole office in Clarksville. His position included supervising others with the goal of making sure sex offenders were complying with state law.

Police said their investigation began in August when DCS referred an allegation of sexual battery against a minor to them. Detectives seized three computers from Mason’s home during the execution of a search warrant. The computers were turned over to the U.S. Secret Service, who found numerous images of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity or simulated sexual activity.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20382956/clarksville-man-charged-with-sexual-exploitation-of-minor

Bean Station Chief of Police steps down after son’s arrest

BEAN STATION (WATE) – Chief of Police Phillip Robinette has resigned following charges filed against his son.

In a press release Saturday, Bean Station Mayor Terry Wolfe said the decision came after Robinette’s son Nathaniel was arrested by Hawkins County deputies.

Nathaniel Robinette, 21, was arrested Friday after admitting to stopping a vehicle, acting like a police officer and detaining the victim while he searched the car.

A Hawkins County narcotics agent stopped Robinette’s yellow Chevrolet Colbalt later after receiving complaints of someone impersonating an officer.

A search of Robinette’s vehicle yielded two Bean Station Police Department badges, two Bean Station Police Department uniform badges, a Colt M-16 full automatic assault rifle and four magazines.

http://www.wate.com/story/20354652/bean-station-chief-of-police-steps-down-after-sons-arrest

MPD officer involved in fatal shooting suspended again

MEMPHIS, TN – (WMC-TV) – Memphis Police officer Terrance Shaw, who shot and killed a teen in September, was allowed back to work last week on non-enforcement status.  Director Toney Armstrong said it is customary with many officers on administrative leave.

“We put them in places like the Real Time Crime Center where they can watch cameras, take reports, answer phones, and things like that,” said Armstrong.  “But they have no responsibilities as far an enforcement.”

But Armstrong told Action News 5 Thursday night that officer Shaw had already been suspended again.

“He’s off duty again,” said Armstrong.  “For something else.”

http://www.wmctv.com/story/20342378/mpd-involved-in-fatal-shooting-suspended-again

Maury County deputy arrested, accused of soliciting child

COLUMBIA, TN (WSMV) -A deputy with the Maury County Sheriff’s Department was arrested Wednesday in a sting operation conducted by Dickson County authorities.

Jackie Sands, 38, is accused of soliciting a minor for sex over the internet. Sands is charged with a Class E felony.

Sands has been fired from the Maury County Sheriff’s Department, according to Sheriff Enoch George.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/20335478/maury-county-deputy-arrested

DA asks for TBI review of local drug task force case involving meth charges, and the behavior of two agents

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will review a local drug task force case involving meth charges, and the behavior of two agents during the late November arrest.

Last week District Attorney General Dan Alsobrooks requested TBI review a case charging a Fairview man with possession and promotion of meth and resisting arrest Nov. 26.

Richard D. Lowe Jr., 31, of Fairview, faces single counts of felony possession of schedule II drugs for resale and promotion of meth manufacturing; and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Lowe appeared for a criminal hearing Nov. 30 in Dickson County General Sessions Court, but his case was waived to a grand jury. As of press time, he remained jailed in lieu of $32,000 bond.

Alsobrooks reported Monday that he had not received a complaint from Lowe of “excessive force” by two drug agents during the Nov. 26 arrest.

“When I learned that the case had been made and that there had been a resisting arrest charge, and that there was some force used in the arrest, given all the circumstances we’ve had on some other cases in the district, I just thought it was a good precaution, as you would say, to have the TBI look at it,” Alsobrooks said.

http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20121211/DICKSON01/312110079/DA-asks-TBI-review?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|

Mayor questions why MPD officer back on job

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) -Memphis Mayor A C Wharton has vowed he will get to the bottom of why police officer Terrence Shaw, who is under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the September shooting death of a teenager, is back on the job.

Mayor Wharton caught by surprise by a decision made by the police department’s deputy director to allow Shaw to come back to work, behind a desk. He won’t be carrying a gun or be able to make arrests, but he’s back on duty in what’s called “non-enforcement” status.

Mayor Wharton is concerned about the public perception of Officer Shaw’s return while he is still the subject of an ongoing  state investigation into a teenager’s shooting.

Shaw, who previously was cleared of any wrongdoing in the 2009 shooting death of a Frayser man, has been at the center of an investigation into Thompson’s death.

At the time Shaw was off-duty and later alleged Thompson attempted to rob him before Shaw shot the teen. A day later, Mr. Wharton called in the TBI to investigate the shooting and announced the entire MPD operation was going to be scrutinized from top to bottom.

Read more: http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/20330830/mayor-questions-why-mpd-officer-back-on-job#ixzz2EtuK1dE9

Why Are There No Good Data On Police Use Of Force?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently ran an editorialpraising a new program by University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger that will track, analyze the city’s police-involved shootings. This comes on the heels of a study Klinger authored on the same topic finding that the city had improved the way it investigates police shootings, but that the police department is still too opaque about those investigations.

This is pretty typical, as is the fact that attempts to make the department more transparent about officer-involved shootings has been strongly opposed by the police union. Last year, an investigative series Las Vegas Review-Journal found that officer shootings were always deemed justified, even in cases where they pretty clearly weren’t. That led to a federal civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice. The DOJ report,released last month, came down hard on the city.

It’s been the same story in other cities. See Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and a host of other places.

It could well be that most or even nearly all officer-involved shootings really are justified. The problem is that when police departments shut down the flow of information, when cops are in charge of investigating other cops, and when the blue code is still openly embraced and enforced, few outside of law enforcement are going to trust the integrity of these investigations.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/radley-balko/why-is-there-no-good-data_b_2278013.html?utm_hp_ref=the-agitator